Job ads suggest Spotify’s set to go public

A recent set of job ads suggests that music streaming service Spotify could be preparing for an initial public offering, which would value the company at an estimated US$8-billion.

According to a report by Reuters, the Swedish company is looking to hire a US financial reporting specialist.

Someone in that kind of post could help it understand the various US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards for filing financial disclosures. That kind of knowledge is essential for any company looking to go public.

The job advert, posted on Spotify’s website and on LinkedIn, reportedly called for an “External Reporting Specialist” who would be required to “prepare the company for SEC filing standards. Set up all reports necessary to be SEC compliant”.

Spotify declined to comment on whether it has IPO plans.

“As Spotify grows and becomes a more mature company we are looking for people who can help us keep our financial reporting in order and up to global standards,” a spokesman said.

Company founder Daniel Ek has also previously played down suggestions of an IPO, especially to Swedish media. As Reuters notes though, the strong performance of tech stocks such as Facebook and Twitter could mean that companies who were waiting to go public are pushing their plans forward a little bit.

While revenue is a concern for Spotify — the company pulled in US$571-million in revenue last year, but still made a net loss of around US$81-million. As Twitter showed with its IPO however, revenue doubts aren’t always an issue. Indeed, Facebook’s stock performance has shown that they’re something it’s possible to bounce back from pretty spectacularly.

While Spotify is one of the more popular streaming music services out there (its competitors include Rdio and Pandora), its existence hasn’t exactly been free from criticism. Prominent artists such as Radiohead’s Thom Yorke have accused the service of paying artists unfairly and, in some instances, have pulled their music from it.